TOKYO, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp on Friday said its South African unit Hernic Ferrochrome Ltd had filed for bankruptcy protection due to financial difficulties amid weaker prices of the alloy.

Mitsubishi, which owned a 53.8 percent stake in the ferrochrome company, said it does not expect the move to have any material impact on its consolidated earnings for the year to March 2018. (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Himani Sarkar)